There was no luck involved. Two great fighters going at it one got stronger as the fight went on and the other gassed. There was no luck involved. One fighter wanted a quick win (again) went really hard for two rounds (looked amazing) and couldn't finish the other fighter (who has a huge heart). The other fighter came in for a 5 round war, lost the first two rounds but as he said there were three left. Controlled BJ completely on feet and ground in the third...where does this luck mentioned come to play?
Congrats to Matt he is a great champion and great roll model for young fighters (hard work pays off).
What weaknesses did you see in Hughes game during his fight with BJ?
Hands were much improved
Defended against BJ's subs (and BJ has better subs than GSP)
Gained top position
Passed BJ's guard
Controlled BJ on the ground
Threw some good leg kicks.
Don't get me wrong, I'm pulling for georges in the rematch, but what I saw was an impressive Hughes.
In fact, Hughes' biggest weakness seems to be his sub defence, but compare Georges' sub game to Charuto's or BJ's and I think you'll agree that Georges isn't finishing this one with a sub from teh bottom.
IMHO, if Georges wants to win the rematch, he has to take advantage of his takedowns to move immediately to side or 1/2 guard before Hughes has a chance to settle into guard. This has been a weakness of sorts with George's takedowns, in that he'll get his opponent down, but not take advantage of the takedown to improve position. Had he done so with Hughes in the first fight, off the first takedown, he might have done some significant damage. Instead, Hughes neutralized him from guard.
I agree 100%, but how does that translate to weaknesses that GSP can exploit? The fact that Hughes couldn't get the takedown or effectively GnP says more about BJ's strengths than about Hughes's weakneses, no?
Ahh, I'm just being contrary for contrarinesses sake. Next I'll be correcting grammar.
Looking forward to the rematch -- will be a nailbiter
Where exactly did BJ own Hughes in that fight? I just watched it and it looked close to me, I had the first round even and the 2nd I gave to Hughes (barely).
"Matt couldn't get BJ down and his GnP was effectively neutralized"
Matt did get BJ down once and his GnP looked good in round 3 when he finished the fight. Big John obviously felt BJ was taking punishment.
Hughes' expression was like a deer cought in headlights halfway through the first round when he discovered he couldn't out-strike, out-wrestle, or take BJ down like he's used to doing with other opponents.
2nd round BJ was even more impressive with BJ completely dominating Hughes. Hughes was saved by the bell in the first and second rounds.
Third round BJ walked in obviously injured, he couldn't move. It's not hard to beat someone when they can't move, hence luck on Hughes' side for the win. Round 3 was the only time Hughes did anything in the fight, and it was against an injured BJ.
Separated ribs can happen anytime, and lady luck played her hand to rescue Hughes. I have no idea why Hughes' apologists think he did anything exceptional.
The fact that he defended several submission attempts does not impress me. It would impress me if he actually attempted some submissions. It's like the lion and the zebra. just because the zebra outruns the lion 9 out of 10 times, doesn't make the zebra king of the jungle.
In this fight BJ was the lion, Hughes got lucky plain and simple, hence GSP's coment of Hughes getting the win but not looking impressive holds true.
lol...Matt beats one of the best fighters in the world and people aren't impressed. Matt looked good to me as he held Penn down and fed him elbows repeatedly.
I like BJ for the amazing talent he displays, and just how natural of a fighter he is. Some of the things he does to the people he does them to are just amazing.
But, let's not kid ourselves. If BJ got injured, it wasn't because he slipped in the warmup area. Going against a guy like Matt with the size difference is nuts, and those first 2 rounds showed the skill difference. Who knows what would have happened had Big John let the fight go after the eye gouge like in so many Lidell fights. But in the end, Matt won. I'm not a huge Hughes fan, but he showed a Champ's heart in that fight and deserved the win.
Gil Castillo made a post on the UG about the fight. he sums up how I feel pretty much, except for the thumb in the eye thing.
I don't get all heated up over a debate on the internet about who can beat up who. Fact is, they can all kick my ass! RESPECT goes out to all of them, and as a FAN i choo choo choose GSP. either way, all three of those guys are incredible.